SE Asian cuisine: unintentionally and unabashedly healthy
While on vacation in Southeast Asia over the (Western) New Year, I ate the healthiest Asian meals of my life. Simply cross the border into Vietnam and oily, non-descript mountains of fatty meat heaped indiscriminately on the plate give way to crunchy, fresh ingredients laid out so that each individual can combine delicate flavors according to one's whim.

Over dinner this past week at French-Vietnamese La Maison de Marguerite, I was reminded by the new owner-manager, Qi Jun, that Southeast Asian cuisine has long been recognized for fresh ingredients. "Food from Singapore, or Thailand, or Vietnam, are all healthier, lighter, with less oil and lots of seafood and vegetables" as compared to Chinese food. Of course, as Qi pointed out, ingredients and weather affect freshness and quality as well, and we can't expect imports to taste as robust as they might taste eaten in their native environments.

Which is why the Malaysian dining spot Awana makes such an effort to make sure its goods stay unsullied en route to the kitchen. There's no way I would have eaten the shrimp had I not been first assured by the manager, Chris Tan, that, "we're very health-conscious here [at Awana]". Chris explained to me that Awana differs from our city's other Malaysian restaurants in that they don’t offer pork strictly avoid MSG. Which might be why the savory-sweet lamb curry, just falling off the bone and interspersed with veggies throughout, felt as healthy as a fish might have been in its stead.

Blame it on New Year's Resolutions. Or the not-so-surprising verdict that Sichuan cai can lead to high blood-pressure, clogged arteries and the occasional heart attack. Whatever the catalyst, it's clear the gastronomic zeitgeist has Beijing's busiest budding restaurateurs seeking out healthy fare for local palates. Or maybe it's simply that Southeast Asian food, regardless of health benefits, is quite simply enchanting. That it's fresh, fat- and oil-free are simply the icing on the cake.

Manuela Zoninsein